CAPD approaches all of its work with a lens that recognizes social justice and equity as among the factors that contribute to community and population well-being, and structural racism, white privilege and racial and other inequities (related to gender, LGBTQ status, wealth and/or country of origin) as among issues needing to be addressed. In our evaluation work, we use this lens to inform our clients’ understanding of the complex social problems they wish to address - what might be important to assess, what populations are affected and in what different ways based on race/ethnicity, gender, etc. and in the kinds of evidence to be collected. We also pay attention to racism and privilege in the processes of evaluation itself, and try to eliminate or mitigate their potential effects. This process includes an examination of power dynamics, consequences of historical and current day inequities, which kinds of evidence are privileged, and, fundamentally, what constitutes success and who says so.

To build our capacities in this area, CAPD has made an effort to learn as much as possible about the history of racism in the U.S. and globally, the way whiteness has been constructed and maintained, their systemic nature and potential entry points for change; we work to share those learnings with others in the field. At the same time, since racism has never been eliminated in this country we, like others, don’t know what it will take. We strive to bring both the learning and the need for innovation and risk-taking to our work.

With MP Associates and World Trust Educational Services, CAPD co-created www.racialequitytools.org. Racial Equity Tools is designed to support individuals and groups working to achieve racial equity. This site offers tools, research, tips, curricula and ideas for people who want to increase their own understanding and to help those working toward justice at every level – in systems, organizations, communities and the culture at large. We also co-authored Flipping the Script: White Privilege and Community Building (2005), with Maggie Potapchuk, Donna Bivens and Barbara Major. The first half of Flipping the Script defines racism, internalized racism, white privilege and how they are related to community building work. The second half offers ideas for doing evaluation, community building and interventions differently in ways that might reduce their historical or current consequences.